Texas officials confirm Dallas police shooter acted alone

A photo of Micah Xavier Johnson, who Texas state officials identified as the lone shooter in the Dallas ambush that left five police officers dead.Screenshot via VICE NewsTexas state officials confirmed that the man accused of shooting and killing police officers in Dallas acted alone.

The suspect in the shooting Thursday night that left five police officers dead and seven others wounded has been identified as 25-year-old Dallas resident Micah Xavier Johnson, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings announced during a press conference Friday afternoon.

"We believe, given the facts, that Mr. Johnson was the lone shooter in this incident," Rawlings said, "we believe now that the city is safe, and that the suspect is dead, and we can move on to healing."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott added that investigators don't know "who, if anybody, may have known what the gunman knew," or "who may have assisted him."

Johnson died after a long standoff with Dallas police officers. CBS has reported that Johnson was not on any FBI watch lists.

Military experts have said one of the attackers appeared "tactically professional" and "focused" in videos taken of the ambush.

A Texas law-enforcement official told CBS News' David Begnaud that Johnson claimed to be a US Army veteran during his standoff with the police. The Army confirmed Johnson had served as an enlisted soldier and served a tour of duty in Afghanistan. It said Johnson was trained in the Army reserves as a carpentry/masonry specialist. It was unclear what type of firearms training he had.

Photos of Johnson, apparently taken from his Facebook page, were being shared on social media Friday morning:

Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown initially said Friday that two snipers staged the attack from "elevated positions" near what had been peaceful protests over recent police killings of black men and that the department thought the attackers coordinated the ambush. Johnson's specific role in the attack was unclear.

By Friday morning the police had killed one suspect, who was later identified as Johnson, using a robot-controlled bomb after negotiations in a standoff in a Dallas parking garage. Brown said the suspect said he was "upset about Black Lives Matter" and that he "wanted to kill white people."

"We cornered one suspect and we tried to negotiate for several hours," Brown said in a press conference on Friday.

"Negotiations broke down and we had an exchange of gunfire with the suspect," he said. "We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on it for it to detonate where the suspect was. Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger. The suspect is deceased, as a result of the detonating of the bomb."

Mayor Rawlings confirmed on Friday that the device contained the explosive, C-4.

Brown added: "The suspect said he was upset about Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about the recent police shootings. The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers." Brown corrected earlier reports that said the suspect had killed himself.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown pauses at a prayer vigil following the deaths of five police officers last night during a Black Live Matter march on July 8, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. Five police officers were killed and seven others were injured in a coordinated ambush at a anti-police brutality demonstration in Dallas. Investigators are saying the suspect is 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas. This is the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since September 11.Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesJohnson's Facebook page, which has since been taken down, seems to corroborate what Brown described about his anger toward white people. The page featured images of Black Power and the red, black and green flag sometimes known as the Black Liberation flag. He appeared in his profile photo with a raised fist in a Black Power salute, and posted an angry rant against white people on Facebook last Saturday, July 2, Reuters reported.

"Why do so many whites (not all) enjoy killing and participating in the death of innocent beings," Johnson wrote in the post in a Facebook group called Black Panther Party Mississippi. "Then they all stand around and smile while their picture is taken with a hung, burned and brutalized black person. They even go to our homeland and shoot our endangered wildlife for sport."

From Reuters:

"Among the pages that Johnson had 'liked' on the social media site belonged to a group calling itself the African American Defense League. On Friday morning, the group posted a message calling on "gangs across the nation" to 'attack everything in blue except the mail man.'"

Johnson's neighbors in Mesquite, a suburb of Dallas, told CNN that he lived with his mother and seemed reclusive.

Brown said previously that Johnson had said "the end is coming" as he exchanged gunfire with the police and also said he would "hurt and kill" more police officers. Brown said the man also claimed to have placed bombs inside the El Centro College garage where the shootout took place. No bombs have been found, however.

The standoff at the garage ended shortly before 3 a.m. CT on Friday.

Reuters

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement on Friday that the Department of Justice will assist in investigating the Dallas shootings.